The teleprompter is an electronic apparatus that reflects a text, which has previously been loaded on a computer and shown on a display, onto a transparent sheet of glass situated in the field of vision of a speaker at a distance that allows it to be read, such that they may look straight ahead or to the sides while reading the text, so that their diction is more natural. Podium or speech teleprompters, also referred to as presidential teleprompters, are the sort used for events in which a speaker is located in front of an audience.
In their present form, speech teleprompters are often rented by the day to be used during important lectures or major speeches. When they are rented out, it is common for the service to include an assisting operator who assists during installation and who may optionally guide the text remotely from a computer.
Assistance for installation is required because known teleprompters incorporate two reflective mirrors and the necessary system for showing the text that is to be reflected, which includes two monitors weighing a total of approximately 70 kg, including the carrying case or cases, and employ at least six cables. Two connect each of the two monitors to the power supply; another two connect each of the two monitors to a VGA signal splitter; one connects the VGA signal splitter to the power supply; and another connects the VGA signal splitter to the computer providing the text.
On stage, it is common and advisable to hide or conceal the cables as much as possible, as well as the two monitors, so that the audience does not see the text scrolling across their screens, which would be the case if the two monitors were not covered on at least three sides by a sufficiently tall cover/hood. Moreover, in addition to the components that the teleprompter needs in order to operate, the question of how to hide the monitors must be resolved on a case-by-case basis, and without getting in the way of them carrying out their function or of the displayed image being reflected onto the associated sheets of glass.
The result is that, in its current conception, the great majority of speakers and lecturers do not find the speech teleprompter comfortable. They see it as an apparatus that is too complex to set up, too complicated to use, hard to camouflage on stage (due both to its cables and to its monitors), expensive to buy or to rent, too heavy to carry and, in a word, only to be used on very special occasions by high-level speakers or lecturers surrounded by significant human teams, for example heads of state, cabinet ministers, lecturers at major events being broadcast in the media, and on solemn occasions, permitting longer and more specific setup.
Therefore, one aim of the present invention is a teleprompter system that can overcome these drawbacks.
As such, it should be noted that there is currently a need for a teleprompter system that can match the features of existing speech teleprompters, but which is easier to install and to carry.
Another aim is for the proposed teleprompter system to enable solutions to be incorporated which dispense with the need for an assistant, and not just for carrying and installing the system, but even for tasks such as positioning the mirrors during a speech.
The teleprompter system of the present invention is intended to make the speech teleprompter available to the general public, making it accessible to everyone since its features make it suitable for distribution and marketing through the channels of personal and home electronics consumption, such as department stores, electronics stores, etc., as opposed to just specialized channels.